10 Life Lessons From Diane Von Furstenberg
What three employees learned by working with fashion superstar Diane Von Furstenberg. (Photo: DVF Fall/Winter 2015)
If you wade through the drama and occasional cat fight on the fashion reality show House of DVF, you’ll find fashion guru Diane Von Furstenberg dispensing advice on life, love, friendship and career. The millennial contestants on the show, who are competing for a job as the company’s Brand Ambassador, go from frenetic and immature, to completely rapt in her presence. Von Furstenberg has lived a rich life creating a global brand, having high profile romances, delving deep into philanthropy, raising a family, all while looking impossibly glamorous. Von Furstenberg’s combination of candor, glamour, sophistication, confidence, and intelligence is held in awe by the girls, who spend a lot of the show talking about what an inspiration she is. But what is like for the women who work for the fashion icon everyday? I asked three of DVFs employees, who also appear on House of DVF to share what they’ve learned from Von Furstenberg when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Be the woman you want to be: “Diane is truth. Her whole platform ‘Be the woman you want to be’ is not just something she wrote a book, it’s how she lives her life. The idea is to love yourself, be your own best friend and envision who you want to be in the world and get there. You are the only person that can help you and define you,” says Stefani Greenfield, DVF Creative Brand Director.
Go out into the world: “Diane is an explorer she surrounds herself with constant inspiration,” says Greenfield. “It’s this magic carpet ride of cultural creativity. She is always putting her imprint on, art music fashion politics.”
Less is more when it comes to speaking: “With the girls on the show, I share this advice from Diane,” says Greenfield. “Listen pause and then speak. Add value. Don’t just speak to speak. Go with less and better.”
Love your life: “Diane is in love with life. She’s in love with everything that that entails, which also means work. She’s the first in and the last to leave. If you are doing something that you are passionate about, then it’s always exciting to you. That’s how you stay in business as long as she has, when you have a really personal and excited connection,” says Jessica Joffe, DVF Style Editor.
Love yourself: I’ve also learned from Diane that being hard on yourself is totally overrated,” explains Joffe. “The same way we should be compassionate with each other, we should be with ourselves. There is something about having compassion for yourself and where you are.”
Love your style: “Diane has a very exuberant, delightful and easy relationship with her personal style,” says Joffe. “It’s about really developing your own personal style and not being beholden to too many roles. Find what is really you. If you look at old pictures of Diane, she’s not beholden to trends, it’s just really pure expression of herself.”
Be a badass: “Within the context of the feminist conversation right now Diane is just a badass. She’s a woman’s woman and a man’s woman,” states Joffe.
Be personal: I am very close with my grandmother and my mother, and to have Diane be a third mother who is an icon in the fashion world and as a work mentor is wonderful. We can be talking all business and then she might say, “How is your mom doing? How is your love life?” It is good to have a mentor like that,” says Brittany Hampton, DVF Global Brand Ambassador.
Have an identity outside of the home: “Personally Diane has always reminded me that every woman should have an identity outside of the home,” says Hampton. “I have a lot of friends who say that they want to be a stay at home mom or a wife, and I always think back to what Diane has taught me.”
Have fun: “Diane has the concept that you can be serious at your base but be frivolous on top,” says Hampton. “You can be serious when you are at work, but have fun and be light.”
House of DVF Season 2 promo. (Video: YouTube)
Related:
Diane von Furstenberg on Empowering Women, Barry Diller, & Why She Won’t Get Plastic Surgery
